New Year's Evolution

Jan 14, 2009

Warm-Up

January is a natural time to consider changing and improving
the things in your life that you think need the most attention.
Here at IDEA, we’re constantly fine-tuning what we’re doing
to improve the value of what we deliver to you, so it’s a special
pleasure to announce a few changes that we think will enhance
your membership and the world in general.

First, you’ll be seeing some content changes thismonth and
in comingmonths in the pages of thismagazine. In September
we fielded our first major readership survey in a number of
years, and the feedback you gave us about the publications was
incredibly helpful. There are surveys—and then there are surveys!
We had planned to send three invitations to participate,
but we got so many responses back from you within hours of the first e-mail blast that we shut it
down after a week. So many of you took the time to answer all the sections, but the really impressive
part was the detail you gave us on the write-in questions.We have sorted through the pages and
pages of data and have a firm grasp on what we can add to our content to make your jobs and
your learning easier. Thank you for helping us to help you!

As a start, in this issue we’ve responded to your request to present a more global perspective on
the industry through a new column called “World Beat.” Every month you can turn to the last
page of the magazine and take a free trip somewhere in the world. This month, it’s Egypt. Next
month you’ll be in the Philippines.

We have also heard your voices and concerns about environmental impact and are happy to be
shrinking our carbon footprint. Starting with the March issue of IDEA Fitness Manager, business
and program director members will receive that newsletter strictly in a digital format.

Saving on paper, postage, ink and energy is part of our effort to work toward a better,more beautiful
world. Our primary concern is always how our decisions affect you, our valued member.We
are confident that this new era in information delivery will prove to be not only a wise “green”move
but also a smart and efficient way to honor you, the smart and efficient fitness professional.

As we move forward with this transition, it is very important that we have your current e-mail
information so that delivery of your IDEA Fitness Manager will continue seamlessly. If you have not
done so recently, please contact our membership department (member@ideafit.com) and make
sure we have your e-mail address on file. (We respect your privacy and do not share e-mail addresses.)
We hope you will let us know how you enjoy this updated version of a timeless classic, and
also how we can keep improving all our publications and our service to you.

We promised in September,with the rollout of the new website, that we’d be layering on some excellent
tools devoted to your learning convenience, and so we are very pleased to announce the launch
of IDEA Online Courses and Tracking on www.ideafit.com.You can now go to the online IDEA Store
and find continuing education credit (CEC) courses derived fromourmagazine articles; study thematerial;
take the test online; and get instantaneous feedback and a certificate of completion to send to your
certifying agency. Inmost cases, IDEA CECmaterials have been approved by ACE,NSCA,NASMand
ACSM.Additional agenciesmay accept these credits.Please contact your certification agency to inquire.

Finally, be sure to read our biennial IDEA Fitness Industry Compensation Survey. This in-depth
study will cast a ray of light on the future of employment, wages and benefits in this great industry
during dismal financial times. Only IDEA members have access to this unique industry data.
Be sure to maximize the value of the information!